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This week on Off the Shelf, David Dowd, partner at Mayer Brown LLP, takes a look at the General Service Administration’s draft solicitation seeking e-marketplace solutions, Section 846’s key provisions and GSA’s market research efforts.

As a threshold matter, GSA identified three types of e-portal solutions within the scope of the Section 846: E-marketplace, e-commerce, and e-procurement.

Dowd discusses GSA’s decision to limit competition for the draft solicitation’s proof of concept (POC) to e-marketplace solutions.  He further outlines the legal, policy and market implications of only including e-marketplaces in the POC, excluding the e-procurement and e-commerce solutions.

Dowd also analyzes key features and aspects of the draft solicitation, including the inherent organizational conflict of interest associated with e-marketplace solutions, the “no-cost” structure of the contract and the treatment of each order under the POC as a separate contract.

Finally Dowd shares his thoughts on the impact of certain provisions and requirements that were not included in the draft solicitation —especially the lack of information/guidance regarding commercial terms and conditions.

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